Why focus on health?

Health and poverty are strongly linked.

That's because health issues are often the factor plunging families into poverty. Plus the conditions many kids face make them predisposed to health issues. By investing in health, you're helping kids build a future for themselves.

What gets measured?

"What gets measured gets done," someone once said. (And we agree!) We work with the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) to measure specific results as part of our program.

When trying to achieve healthy behaviors, here is what we measure:

Increased knowledge:Kids need to be equipped with information to make good choices. They may have no idea that certain behaviors put their health at risk, and different people and communities have different perceptions (and misperceptions) about health. By giving kids accurate information, you're helping them to make healthy choices for a lifetime.

Improved attitude:All the information in the world won't help if kids don't believe changing behavior is important. We're making sure kids and their parents see these issues as relevant to them.

Increased self-efficacy:Finally, kids have to believe they can really pull off these healthier behaviors. Part of that comes down to designing interventions that can work for them in their circumstances. The rest of it is instilling in kids the confidence and belief to keep it up.

When it comes to the use of health services, we look at these results:

Improved availability:Kids can't use health services if they're not available in the first place. We make sure our children can get to nearby providers when they are open and at times that work for our families.

Improved affordability:Our kids are living in poverty. We make sure their financial conditions aren't a road block to accessing care.

Increased demand:Once care is accessible, we work to make sure people use it when they need it. We teach individuals about where to find services and ensure they're happy with them.

Knowledge = power

By expanding our preventive health programs, we can continue to battle the root causes of poverty, not just address its symptoms. Join us in this important effort to create healthy behaviors that last a lifetime!